Measure for Measure (Signet Classics)

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It's Shakespeare. Come on.

Rape. Execution. Blackmail. Prostitution. Comedy, thy name is Shakespeare!William Shakespeare's late-period comedy, written and staged around 1604, presents serious themes under the flimsiest gauze of humor, yet the humor oddly finds way of prevailing. With its themes of political corruption and sexual desire, "Measure For Measure" has a decidedly modern quality to it that gives the play more resonance today than it perhaps had when Shakespeare first wrote it.In Vienna, a duke of a decidedly pious bent leaves his city in the hands of a zealous lieutenant, Angelo. Angelo decides it's good to be duke, not only when passing death sentences to punish non-marital relations that offend his morality, but when offering clemency to the virgin sister of one of those criminals in exchange for a night of sin. Isabella must decide what is more precious, her brother's life or her own soul? And who is this strange friar with all the questions?Actually, you know pretty early on that the friar is the duke in disguise, perhaps the only card in this particular deck Shakespeare reveals early on. Most of the time, "Measure For Measure" has a way of surprising you, both with its sharp humor and uncomfortable subject matter. Take this reflection on the nature of death:"Thy best of rest is sleep,And that thou oft provok'st; yet grossly fear'st/Thy death, which is no more. Thou art not thyself;For thou exists on many a thousand grains/That issue out of dust. (III.i.17-20)Funny? No, unless you think of the context, which is a pretend holy man offering what he imagines is succor to a condemned man, in which case it is pretty funny, in a black-humored way. "Measure For Measure" has a lot of black humor, and even more context-driven humor, as when we watch the Duke in his disguise hear himself described as a lech by a nobleman who can't stop himself from talking until it's well past too late.The main focus of the story, on Isabella and her devil's bargain with Angelo, is less a comedy than a satisfying dramatic treatment of true faith coming into conflict with false piety, with a good deal of exploration on the subject of love as grace or folly. One way "Measure For Measure" is a modern play is the way it plays this matter as ambiguously as it does, with no clear answers given, however satisfying many (including me) find the ending to be.My Signet edition comes with a useful if tendentious essay by G. Wilson Knight on "Measure For Measure's" Christian message, one I would agree with more if Knight didn't see the Duke as so much of a God figure. The themes of forgiveness and mercy certainly derive from the Gospels (where the title comes from), but the play is at times too dark and at others too determinedly silly to bear this point too strongly.I found it a great play, enjoyable as a comedy and gripping as a story, with some of Shakespeare's finest lines. It may be known best today for its title, but take it from me, there's a great deal more going on here than what's on the cover.

Great book! One of the classic Shakespeare dramas. Full of witty humor.